


A Two Dimensional Kind Of Guy

by CBlue



Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types, Supernatural
Genre: Also there's a bit of a meta to do with car ownership, Angst I guess, Bittersweet Ending, Character Meta, Dean is Fred Jones on a meta textual level, Episode: s13e16 Scoobynatural, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Oh there's also a whole meta about chosen names so like idk, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Scooby-Doo's Speech Pattern (I am sorry), Shaggy Is A Good Friend, and then Hurt/No Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 19:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30144132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CBlue/pseuds/CBlue
Summary: The corridor is a long walk, and Shaggy can't help but notice that this Cas guy seems pretty bummed that Dean wanted to split off with Daphne and Fred.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Daphne Blake/Fred Jones, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers & Scooby Doo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	A Two Dimensional Kind Of Guy

**Author's Note:**

> Literally spat out this meta and now it's a ficlet so here ya go. *throws it at ya*. Shaggy talks about picking his name. Interpret that as you will. Dean talks about how the car makes up half of Fred's personality (which the author and Cas do not agree with.) Short and sweet until it's not. Sorry, Cas, no big kiss here. Not yet.

“Hey, man, so like…” Shaggy trailed his words off as the dude halted in his steps. His shoulders were large and intimidating but his face made him seem softer and more approachable. It was easier speaking to the guy, Castiel, when faced with his - well, _face_.

Castiel, but the other two dudes called him Cas, raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Shaggy?”

“Can I call you Cas, man?” That wasn’t the question Shaggy had intended, but it was equally as important. Shaggy might not have been born Shaggy, but Shaggy was the name he preferred. That didn’t mean that was true for Castiel. Castiel might have only preferred people he knew to call him Cas, and did Shaggy even know the strange little guy beyond his name?

That seemed to give Castiel pause. He hummed, turning to look at Scoob who had totally stopped to watch the conversation. Castiel turned that all-seeing and comforting gaze to Shaggy with a smile. “Yes, you may. I have no preference if you wish to call me Castiel or… _Cas_.” His eyes sparked for a moment as he continued, and it was the liveliest Shaggy had seen the man on their hunt for the ghost. “I have been told that nicknames are means of showing affection, though, so I understand if referring to me as Cas seems too intimate for our newly acquired acquaintanceship.”

Blinking rapidly, Shaggy nodded. “Like, I think I get you, man. Sometimes those names are just who we are, though, dude.” He chuckled, looking to Scoob and gesturing between the two of them. “Like, me and him? Man, we weren’t born Scooby and Shaggy.”

“Ra,” Scooby intervened enthusiastically. “Ri rame is Roobert.”

“Scoobert?” Castiel furrowed his brow, and his head quirked in a peculiar manner. There wasn’t much about this little trench-coated dude that wasn’t peculiar, but Shaggy wasn’t one to judge. He knew what people thought of him. He _was_ peculiar, but peculiar wasn’t _bad_.

“Rhat’s re.” Scooby pointed to himself, grinning before he looked to Shaggy. “Raggy’s ras ramed Roville.”

Again Castiel nodded slowly. “...Norville?” His frown deepened. “I… had assumed most nicknames were derivatives of forenames.”

“Not always,” Shaggy shook his head, placing a hand on Castiel’s shoulder. “But like, sometimes we just pick new names, dude. Cas is a nickname since someone else nicked your name.” He chuckled before pointing to himself. “But me? Shaggy _is_ my name, dude. It’s the name I chose.”

“I… see.” Castiel said, even though it did not seem like he _saw_. Shaggy could understand. Names were pretty complicated sometimes. Or, like, the _feeling_ of names could be complicated. “And what if…” Castiel began before pressing his lips tight together. As if he could trap his thoughts within his skull.

Scooby and Shaggy looked at one another before turning back to Castiel. “Like, _what if_ what, dude?” Shaggy raised his brow in inquiry and felt it reflected in Scooby beside him.

“What if one does prefer the… name that has been nicked?” Castiel looked to Scooby and Shaggy, his eyes looked totally blue under the mansion’s candlelights. “I sometimes feel as if… Castiel is no longer who I am. But… _Cas_ feels right.”

“Rhen rou are Ras.” Scooby grinned, tail wagging as he spoke. “Right, Raggy?”

“Like, totally right, dude.” Shaggy matched Scooby’s grin. “If you feel like a Cas, then you’re a Cas, man!”

Cas smiled softly. It seemed to reach his eyes this time which made Shaggy feel like he appreciated the talk. “Thank you, Shaggy. Scooby.” He gestured to the both of them in kind.

Shaggy laughed easily. “Like, of course, man!” He grinned as Cas turned to continue their ghost-hunt. Then he totally remembered what he was trying to ask in the first place. “Yanno, it really seemed like you and that Dean guy are super tight. That’s why I call Scooby-Doo, Scoob.”

“Yes, I… suppose that is similar.” Cas spoke over his shoulder, continuing down the hall. Shaggy and Scooby walked behind him a short distance. The arches of the mansion were downright creepy and the windows were awfully spooky, but Cas was a big guy. It was like walking around with another Fred.

“When the gang splits up, Scoob and I always go together, right Scooby-Doo?” Shaggy offered a grin to his bestest buddy in the whole wide world.

Scooby returned it easily. “Right, Raggy. Rou and re always ro rogether.”

Shaggy threw his arm over Scooby’s neck, pulling him into a momentary hug. “That’s because we’re the best of buds, dude.” He looked to Cas’ shoulders. “That’s like why I was surprised that Dean didn’t wanna go with you searching for the g-g-ghost, man.” Shaggy could not help the involuntary stutter at the thought of the ghost.

Cas’ movements stopped and Shaggy nearly bowled him over. Shaggy and Scooby scurried to right their footing as Cas spoke. “I suppose that is because Dean wishes to spend more time with your friend Daphne.”

“Daphne?” Shaggy furrowed his brow. “Don’t get me wrong, man, Daphne is totally cool, but like why would he want to spend time with Daphne and not _you_?”

There was an odd movement to Cas’ shoulders that Shaggy couldn’t place. It seemed Scooby was more insightful since he looked on rather pityingly. “Dean is… _attracted_ to your friend and would like to… _shoot his shot_.” Cas’ gaze turned to one of the curtains that a stray breeze had caught as if that were a real clue.

“Like, I don’t know what _that_ means, man, but if you mean he wants to take Daphne dancing then he’s outta luck, dude.” Shaggy spoke apologetically. “Fred and Daphne are pretty much a sure thing.”

Cas turned to face Shaggy and Scooby again, eyebrows raised to his hairline. “I was under the impression that Fred and Daphne were not in a romantic relationship with one another.”

Shaggy shrugged. “Nah, but they’re totally it for each other, man.”

“Rotally it.” Scooby nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, like, it’s always a will they or won’t they, but we _always_ know they’re gonna. One day.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Totally crazy since they both know how into each other the other one is.”

Cas thinned his lips again, gaze flickering around the hall before coming back. “What if they don’t know?” He asked softly, stepping forward and eliminating the space between himself and Shaggy and Scooby. “What if Fred doesn’t know if Daphne… thinks about him in that manner? It’s not a sure thing for Fred, because _how could Daphne ever_ \---” his words are stopped abruptly before he continued in an even softer voice. “Daphne knows what she wants. She always goes after what she wants. If she wanted Fred, then she’d already have him. Because he’s already hers.”

Shaggy blinked again, sharing his startled expression with Scooby before turning to look at Cas. Man, now he _did_ look pitiful and Shaggy understood what Scoob was picking up. “Man, are we talking about Fred or are we talking about _you_ , dude?”

“I just think,” Cas began with a sigh, “Daphne Blake is a very accomplished person. If she wished to pursue Fred, she would.”

“Man, I think you’re like, selling Fred short, dude.” Shaggy frowned. “Freddy is awesome. He drives the _Mystery Machine_ and he puts together clever gadgets and doohickeys to catch ghosts.”

Cas tilted his head, looking a distance away. “Then perhaps Dean is Fred in this scenario.”

Scooby nodded sagely. “Reah. Reddy rust roesn’t row rhat Raphne rikes rim.”

“Totally, dude.” Shaggy agreed. “Freddy _totally_ doesn’t know that Daphne digs him. It’s like Cas said.” He gestured to Cas as he continued. “Cas - er, Daph - could totally have anyone she wants, so if she wanted Freddy she’d go out and take him. Fred doesn’t think that Daph wants him, yanno?”

“But that’s not true.” Cas spoke firmly. “Fred is the _only_ thing that Daphne wants. And Fred knows it.”

“Then, like, what’s stopping them, man?” Shaggy shrugged furrowing his brow and feeling a little out of his depth. Scooby didn’t look too much better, either.

Cas sighed and his heavy shoulders seemed to weigh him down. “There has been… many choices that Daphne---” he cut himself short and sighed again, “that _I_ have made. That has been me choosing something else over Dean. It’s not because I wanted to choose anything other than him, but…”

Scooby shook his head sadly. “Rou rhose rhem ror rim.” He placed his front paw on Cas’ arm.

“Yes,” the strange dude with his strange name and sad eyes looked so much like a sad puppy. And sad puppies were Shaggy’s weakness. “Something like that. I’m afraid after not outright choosing Dean for so long that… that he no longer cares that I _do_ choose him. That I only _want_ to choose him.”

“You know, Cas,” Shaggy started small, “when the gag splits up, Daph always goes with Fred.”

“Fred asks her to.” Cas answered despite there being no question.

Shaggy snapped his fingers excitedly. “Totally! Because Fred _wants_ Daphne to go with him, ya dig?”

Cas furrowed brow softened and his sadness began to dissipate slowly. “I… Fred chooses Daphne too. They just choose differently.”

Shaggy and Scooby offered one another a shrug before nodding to Cas. “Sure, man. _That_. It sounds kind of confusing when you say it like that, though, dude.”

“I _dig it_.” Cas’ soft smile stretched into a grin. “Thank you, _again_ , Shaggy and Scooby.” He looked to the two of them and his sad blue eyes became sort of like summer skies that reminded Shaggy of picnics by the lake. “You two are very dear to me.”

“You’re our friend too, man.” Shaggy slung his arm over Cas’ shoulder. “Now come on. Usually, Scoob and I forget ghost-hunting, and go _snack-hunting_.”

“Reah. Rive rangerously.” Scooby piped up from Cas’ other side. Together the three of them continued down the hall, monster momentarily forgotten.

* * *

“Dean?” Cas asked carefully, admiring Dean’s profile from where the man sat within the heart of the Dean Cave.

Dean removed his gaze from the television screen to raise a brow toward Cas. “What’s up, Cas?”

In front of them, an older episode of the Scooby-Doo show played. Cas had presumed that Dean would have wanted a break from the show, especially given how he hadn’t gotten to realize his fantasy of ending up with Daphne. However, the hunter had been adamant about binging the show in memoriam of their time spent in the cartoon.

After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Cas continued. “Why do you think Fred and Daphne aren’t together?”

The question must have surprised Dean. The beer he was lightly sipping on sprayed out of his mouth and dribbled on his chin. It should have been unattractive, but Cas was drawn to watching the amber liquid trace Dean’s face.

“Fred is such a _tool_ , Cas.” He scoffed. “He’s dumb, blond, and the only cool thing about him is that he drives the _Mystery Machine_ , which---” Dean excitedly leaned toward Cas, “did you know it’s actually _Shaggy’s_ van? Like, what the hell? Fred has to take _someone else’s car to be cool_?”

“I think you’re selling Fred short, Dean,” Cas smiled softly, watching as Dean’s amusement flickered into confusion. “Fred is a very determined man, and clever too. He is inventive and kind. Considerate to a fault, considering that Shaggy does not _wish_ to drive the _Mystery Machine_ and would prefer that Fred take care of it.”

Dean rolled his eyes, hiding his scoff beneath the rim of his beer bottle. “Yeah, that van must be such a _burden_ on him.” Something passed behind green eyes and Dean’s demeanor shifted. “You sound pretty invested in Fred there, buddy.”

Cas sighed, shoulders feeling heavier by the moment. “I suppose you could say that.”

“I didn’t, uh…” Dean trailed off awkwardly. “If I’d have known, we coulda split up so you got to go with Fred, yanno?”

Squinting his eyes at Dean, Cas raised a confused brow. “What?”

“Well, I mean,” Dean started, “Sam got Velma, and I _tried_ with Daphne, so…” he gestured with his hands in a motion that Cas couldn’t understand. “If you wanted to, yanno, _shoot your shot_ or whatever they call it nowadays with Fred, we coulda---”

“I do not wish to engage in intercourse with a _cartoon character_ , Dean.” Cas huffed in exasperation.

Dean’s cheeks flushed, drowning his freckles from view. “It’s not about having _sex_ with them!” He huffed in his own defense. “I’m just sayin’ gettin’ to first base with Daphne Blake was my dream as a kid.”

“And now?” Cas pursued. “What do you want now, Dean?”

“Now I just wanna survive until _tomorrow_ , Cas.” He answered much too earnestly and softly. “But for a _moment_ I could forget I was in this life. Forget that I live in a world where I have to face demons and gods and monsters, and I could pretend that I could just kiss Daphne Blake.”

Pursing his lips and averting his gaze, Cas nodded. “I see.” He spoke gently before pushing himself up to stand.

Dean furrowed his brow, looking from the show to Cas again. “You done for the night, man?”

“Yes, Dean.” Cas offered a half-smile, something he knew that humans felt more comfortable seeing stretched across his inhuman face. “Good night.”

“G’night, Cas.” Dean called to him, but he already began to make his way out of the Dean Cave.

Perhaps that was why Fred never went after Daphne. It had nothing to do with their compatibility nor her attainability. Perhaps it was just because Fred was looking for something else. Daphne lived in a world of ghosts and monsters, and while Fred could never be Fred Jones without his mystery-solving and trap-making, maybe he was holding out for the hope that one day he could have _more_.

Too bad Daphne Blake wasn’t enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I don't know what that was either. I might expand on this idea at a later date with a fuller fic. Because why _don't_ Daphne and Fred ever get together? _Do_ they both know the feeling is mutual? Scoobynatural awakened something within me and I haven't gotten over it.
> 
> Wanna reblog this? [You can!! Right here 💙💚](https://corancoranthemagicalman.tumblr.com/post/646119559020085248/heres-that-meta-ficlet-of-scoobynatural-starring)


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